Contrary to what you may believe, we are, apparently, living right

Outside our rooms at the Kanab Aiken Maiken Baiken, our trusty steeds.

On the way to Grand Canyon, we encountered a little weather.

We thought it was snow but the ranger at the park gate suggested it was hail.

NoNo at our first Grand Canyon stop.

The Colorado River through the arch at Imperial Point, the Grand Canyon.

The magnitude is....grand.

This shot looks straight down from one observation point at the North Rim.

We had the sun behind us and the rain in front of us.

At the observation lookout, the Western Contingent, the Eastern Contingent and some people who happened to be standing there and they responded to my "hey, everybody turn around!".

NoNo at the observation point.

Cathy and Bob, from the Eastern Contingent.

Utah on Motorcycles complete group: From the left, Les, Howi, Cathy, Tom, Bob, NoNo, John, Sheila.

4 miles wide.

Dramatic relief with foreground "islands" and background valley.

Observation platform

The sign says it all: LOTTO-GUNS-AMMO-BEER.

We were dragging our sorry posteriors Tuesday morning. Despite big plans, nobody from the Western Contingent was too keen to get going and we lounged around the motel for hours without being terribly productive. We were all just happy to not be on the bikes, giving our bodies a chance to recover. The Eastern Contingent made their way out to Coral Pink Sand Dunes state park.

We did walk around town a little, found breakfast at yet another diner but I did have my first latte in some time and it was great to get a good coffee. There is a dearth of coffee shops here of the variety that serves all manner of coffees. Like alchohol, caffiene is restricted to Mormons so I guess there just aren't enough tourists to sustain such shops.

Fortunately, we were not total sloths and we found lunch then set off for the Grand Canyon just after one o'clock, the Western Contingent guys on their bikes and the Eastern Contingent with that traitorous NoNo riding with them.

The elevation gain to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is substantial, with elevation on the order of 2,700 metres along the way. In fact, the weather had been threatening and we did get moderate rain but it was clear that the weather had been worse moments before we passed through various zones on the way as there was a thick blanket of snow on the road and the ditches. There had been enough traffic that we had two reasonably clear lanes to negotiate without having to drive through the accumulation. At the park gate, the ranger suggested that it was hail, not snow but I hadn't stopped to check it out more carefully.

We spent a couple of hours at the North Rim. Our first stop, Bob's favourite, was at Imperial Point, though I am not sure how Bob could have a favourite there. We moved around to a couple of others, which was aided by intermitten rain however, when we went to our last vista, we had a break in the weather and it got quite clear and sunny for over an hour. We were treated to an amazing sight of a rainbow that was almost an entire circle; we are so used to seeing a rainbow as a part arc or at most, a semi-circle but from this vantage, high on a perch with the sun behind us and sprinkling rain, we had virtually the full rainbow effect spread before us with a backdrop of the Grand Canyon,forming a near circle a little like a sundog on a wintery day.

The Grand Canyon is a mythical place. I regret that there are no words to describe it but you can be confident that it is an awesome spectacle; I never thought I would get there but I can say with confidence that I fully expect to visit again. If you haven't been, it should he high on your bucket list.

Our plan had been to hang there to watch the sunset paint the canyon but the weather could not make a commitment so we decided to head back to Kanab for dinner. Just as well because we had long since run out of daylight by the time we got back, though that was not without a stop at the "liquour store" for some provisions.

We were all interested in a little something for a nightcap after dinner but the liquor store made it all worthwhile.  The place was on the Arizona side of the state line so they could stay open till 10 p.m. As soon as I walked in to the place, I was hit with the overpowering smell of what I thought was kitty litter. I probably got that because the first thing I saw was large bags of kittly litter for sale. There was a very friendly cat and dog in the place, which could not be said for the proprietor, an elderly lady with long, white hair. I am quite certain she was one of the witches from the Wizard of Oz. One of the original ones. She was cranky and she liked telling us, though insisting that she was not having her period. She also had a pretty foul yap on her and I think a few of the truck drivers in there buying beer were offended and left. The place was filled with junk, stuff that had been for sale at one time but was not so covered with dust that labels were unrecognizable, and several bouquets of flowers, still with the cards in them, coated with a healthy dusting of, well, dust and spider webs,  from when the place opened, probably sometime in the fifites.  I obeserved that the wine I selected had genunine wine dust and she told me "we don't dust". I said "too bad you are such a bitch". But I also said, "thank-you very much, ma'am". It wasn't all bad. It was really quite amusing and this was the way she brushed off being a hoarder.

By the way, the smell was "tom cat", of which there were several in the back.